It's my job to give Fisher it's pride back, says Billy Walton

ROCHESTER UNITED manager Darren Phillips says collecting three points away to fellow strugglers Fisher tomorrow will be huge for the club.



The Strood based outfit arrive at Champion Hill sitting in the bottom three in the Southern Counties East Football League table, having collected one win and two draws from their eight league games.

Fisher have the same playing record, although they have played one game more and they went down to a 6-0 home defeat to lower-league AFC Croydon Athletic in The FA Carlsberg Vase Second Qualifying Round last Sunday, before losing 4-1 to current leaders Phoenix Sports on Wednesday night.

“Saturday’s game away to Fisher is a huge three points for the club,” said Phillips, who managed the reserve side at Ryman League Division One North Chatham Town last season. 

“We’ve had a very tough start playing seven of the top eight sides.

“Our performances against Whyteleafe (2-2), Tunbridge Wells, Phoenix and Corinthian (all 2-1 defeats), have finished with us feeling disappointed not to have got more.

“Beating Lordswood 4-0 was a great result and the 1-1 draw with Holmesdale was a real battling performance.”

A morale-boosting victory over Fisher tomorrow will please Phillips, who still coaches the Kent County League representative side.

He said: “We now have a run of games against clubs around us. This will be where our season is determined.

“We have to take points off these clubs. I’m sure Fisher will be thinking the same about us.

“I’m expecting them to have some quick, exciting players.

“If we play well and compete tomorrow we’ll get something. Every game is difficult at this level but we need a win.”

Phillips says only six players’ have remained loyal with the club and he is trying to blend in a settled team.

“We are still introducing new players, which is taking time for the team to settle,” he said.

“Ricki Holmes and Neil Spackman have been excellent at the back. Glenn Conlon is a star in the making depending on his fitness.  Michael Bishop and Josh Biddlecombe have both arrived in the last few weeks. George Lowes will be back from injury soon.  Dominic Elmes and Daniel Bowden have been the only two forwards who have been fit since the opening day.

“My target for the season was to rebuild the club after only six players returned from last season’s squad. Those six, Martin Di Fede, Ashley Cooper, Shane Uings, Scott Beale, Anthony Uden and Joe Hagan have been excellent.

“It’s difficult for them as only eighteen months ago they were winning the Kent Invicta League and Cup double.

“Last season when things got more difficult a number of players cleared off leaving the club in real trouble but these lads stayed around at a club they love playing for.

“We have some really good young talent in the squad, Olly Dewey, Connor Charlton, Ali Musa, Graeme Lugar, James Huggins and Samuel Musundi, but it’s their first time playing regularly at this level.”

Phillips is being realistic when setting his targets for his first season in charge at Rede Court Road.

He said: “Any club would struggle to fill the gap left by Stuart Zanone, who has been arguably the most prolific striker in Kent over the last three or four years.

“We have to be realistic when setting goals making sure they are achievable at a club that only has one team, no youth section and no playing budget.

“All money at the moment is rightly being put into developing the ground.”

Fisher boss Billy Walton, meanwhile, is staying upbeat despite his club’s woeful week.

The side have leaked ten goals in their last two games and has an idea of improving matters at the back.

“I’m now on the building sites and I’ve asked a couple of bricklayers if they come and put a wall up for us,” joked Walton.

“Hopefully I can pay them a bit of money and that will give them a couple of days’ work to build a couple of brick walls for us in front of the goal to try and tighten it up that way.”

Walton added: “It is tough. I’m a very proud man.  As I said to you on Sunday, we’ll work hard, we’ll try and get through it and we will get through it. We will get better. I can assure you of that.  We won’t keep on losing!”

Walton lacks leaders in his team and finding some experienced players is proving hard when you’re near the foot of the table and do not have anything to offer them other than a black and white striped shirt and playing at Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill Stadium.

“It’s a work in progress but there are a few young lads in there who you can’t rely on week in week out.  You need a few older heads which we haven’t got at the moment, which is hard,” explained Walton.

“If you’ve got no money, I can’t ask the lads who I know in football. The first question they ask me is “how much can you give me Bill?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t give them anything. It is hard.”

Walton insists he is not going to quit the club, despite the club’s miserable campaign so far.

“I love the job! I love doing it!  You asked me Sunday, it’s not pressure. I enjoy it. I do!  I enjoy coming out talking to you. I enjoy the games, the atmosphere and those little grounds. I enjoy everything about football. I don’t feel pressure.  This is a pleasure, whether we’re at the bottom or the top.  I’ve been in football for 40-odd years. I love it. I love football.”

Walton wants his side to gain a morale boosting win against Rochester United, which will see the Fisher leapfrog over Phillips’ side.

“I don’t really know about Rochester,” admitted Walton. “I was hoping to see them Tuesday but I couldn’t get to the game but I suppose any team in this league will give you a hard game and I hope we give them a hard game.

“It’s a game that we’re more than capable of winning and I hope we do win.

“I thought personally we would go to Phoenix Sports and win. I believed we would win that game. I think we’ll win on Saturday. I’m not going to say we can’t not win. We’re going to try our best to win.”

Walton insists he will get his troops up for the battles ahead.

“I’ll make sure the players are up for it, that’s my job,” he said.

“It’s a great club that we play for and we work for and we need to give it it’s pride back and it’s up to me to do that.  I can assure you I’ll be trying hell for leather to do it.”

Visit Fisher’s website: www.fisherfc.co.uk  

Fisher  v  Rochester United
Southern Counties East Football League
Saturday 28^th September 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Champion Hill Stadium, Dog Kennel Hill, Edgar Kail Way, East Dulwich, London SE22 8BD